Erfa Rasant
Visually Erfa Rasants look rough and ready, no-frills razors. They operate the same way as the Apollo / Merkur Progress, with a spring loaded middle plate and a "bottom dial" twist knob.
To the best of my knowledge there are 6 Generations.
They appear to alternate between changing the handle and then the head section. The TopCaps all look similar and could interchange but there are some slight changes.
The images below are in the order that I believe them to have been released. If you know this to be incorrect please contact me.
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1st Generation | 2nd Generation | 3rd Generation |
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4th Generation | 5th Generation | 6th Generation |
The Evolution of the Erfa Rasant
Online research showed me 6 versions. It took a while for me to find all 6 but I finally got there.
There isn't really much info out there so it's pretty much "educated" guess-work. If you know different please contact me so this can be corrected.
I understand that the one with the Hexagonal handle is the earliest, so I worked from there. As indicated above, I believe that they alternate between a handle change and then a change in the head section.
Looking at the handles, it seemed pretty obvious, except for the fact that after the hexagonal handle, the big question was which one came next?
- the one with the plastic twist-knob or the one with the aluminium twist-knob.
I then looked at the heads, more specifically the differences in the various "cut-outs or holes" and that is when everything seems to fall into place.
The images below are in the order that I believe them to have been released. (Correct me if I'm wrong.)
The changes are indicated on the various pages but the below is a condensed summary.
The Generation 1
The handle, the bottom plate and the middle plate feel light, so I assume Aluminium. The TopCap has a bit of plate loss so I can see that it is Zamak and the Twist Knob seems to me metal, so I would assume a Stainless Steel of sorts.
The Generation 2
The head is the same as the Gen 1, and they changed the handle to a round aluminium with a plastic "Adjustment" twist knob. The handle, the bottom plate and the middle plate feel light, so again I assume Aluminium. This particular example seems to have seen very little use and there is no plate loss on the TopCap so it could be either plated Zamak or brass.
The Generation 3
This time they have changed the base plate by getting rid of the lather slots. The two holes that correspond to the pins in the top cap remain. The topcap, adjuster plate and handle are identical to the generation 2 razor. This topcap also has no plate loss so I can't say if its plated Zamak or brass
The Generation 4
They kept the base plate but changed the handle. The plastic twist knob is gone and was replaced with an aluminium version but it no longer has any markings.
The adjuster plate remains the same but the topcap is slightly different in that they got rid of the little side indentations so that it now covers the tabs of the blade.
The handle is about 3mm longer. The handle, the bottom plate and the middle plate, also feel light, so again I assume Aluminium.
This TopCap has a bit of plate loss and we can see that it is Zamak. Based on this and Gen 1 been Zamak, I'm guessing that Gen 2 and 3 would also be Zamak?
What is odd, is that there are no indicators on the twist knob but alignment indicators on the top cap and base plate. There is an indicator on the handle but I believe that its main purpose is to keep the twist knob in place.
The Generation 5
Following the pattern, the handle remained the same.
This TopCap no longer has any plating and we can see that it is brass. It is the same shape and profile of the Gen 4 but has a longer shaft. The rest of the razor is aluminium.
There were a number of changes to the head.
The first was a change in the adjuster plate. This one is pressed aluminium as opposed a casting and is a lot thinner. The edges of the safety bars have fine ridges. The last change was that they removed the last two holes underneath the bottom plate.
I'm also pretty sure that it would have also had a "hammered" finish on the zamak base plate and the topcap would have been chrome plated, but this is how I received it. It definitely has seen a lifetime of shaves.
Again, I'm not sure why they put alignment dots on the TopCap and Base Plate when there are no graduations on the twist knob
The Generation 6
There was a very slight deviation in the pattern in that they moulded the handle and base plate as one piece. The center plate remained as is. Its also much lighter as it's most of it is made of plastic.
They also re-introduced the lather holes and removed any alignment dots.
They also straightened out the knurling on the twist knob which is more in keeping with how its used.
Lets turn our attention to the changes in the top caps
Other then the lengths of the center post, the TopCaps all look similar and can interchange but they are all different.
The change between Gen 1 and Gen 2 - the shape and length of the blade pins changed. The Gen 1 has short rounded alignment pins and Gen 2 they are slightly longer and less rounded.
The change between Gen 2 and Gen 3 - they introduced a recess in the top
The change between Gen 3 and Gen 4 - The previous 3 gens had a slight recess in the sides. Gen 4 was made slightly wider so that the blade tabs are covered. They also shortened the center shaft.
The change between Gen 4 and Gen 5 - the Gen 5 top cap is slightly thinner and they went back to the longer center shaft.
The change between Gen 5 and Gen 6 - the top cap is visually the same as the Gen 5 except that they shortened the center shaft again.